InuYasha: Kagome's Choice
by The Sorceress Princess
Summary: InuYasha and friends are still on their journey to collect the jewel shards so they can defeat Naraku, and they come across Sesshoumaru, InuYasha's brother, who, of course, doesn't like them. However, he may have better feelings for one girl, Kagome.
1. Chapter 1

**InuYasha: Kagome's Choice**

**Disclaimer:** I own none of these characters. They belong to the makers and authors of InuYasha.

**Author's Note:** Okay, this is my very first fanfiction posted on here. If there are any comments, please be gentle!

**Preface:** Almost everything should be normal. The only differences are that some of the characters won't act like they normally would, obviously, and that Rin does not exist. (I don't like her! She bothered me too much! Sorry to all those that do like her.)

**Chapter One: ****The Beast**

"Are we going to be taking a rest any time soon?" asked an exhausted voice. "We've been walking all day!" cried Kagome as she collapsed to her knees on the dirt pathway. "Let's just take a little rest!"

"Yeah, InuYasha, let's rest! I'm tired, I'm getting kind of hungry, too!" said Shippo, stopping right next to Kagome.

InuYasha, the half-dog demon, who was getting annoyed, turned around and growled, "You guys are too weak! It's only been a few hours! Come on, get your butts up, and let's continue!"

Miroku calmly stated after InuYasha's rude comments, "InuYasha, we have been traveling for a while longer than planned. Since we're ahead of schedule, we could take a short break." Miroku sat down on a rock and took from his pocket some bread. He broke a piece of it and handed it to Shippo. "Here you go, Shippo; go on, take it."

Shippo gladly swiped the bread from Miroku's hand. "Thanks a lot, Miroku!" he said as he broke it into smaller bits and stuffed them into his mouth. "Yum!" exclaimed Shippo, while spitting out crumbs when he spoke.

"Shippo, you just spat bread on my shoes…." Sango spoke up, a little disgusted. Hitting the tips of her shoes on the ground, the bread crumbs fell off. Then she sat down beside Miroku. "I could use a rest, too."

Because of the big bite Shippo took, he couldn't speak, making him late in his apology. "Sorry about that, Sango!" he said after he swallowed quickly, almost choking.

Before Sango could reply back with an, "It's okay," InuYasha chimed in with the well-known anger and annoyance that usually assisted in his responses. "What!? No! Come on!" And after continuing for a few minutes, he finally caved in and sat down under a nearby tree, cussing and mumbling a few words here and there.

Kagome rolled her eyes at him and started talking to Sango, while Miroku slowly started making moves on Sango, over conversing. "Miroku…." Sango started, getting angry, "What do you think you're doing with that hand!?" Before Miroku could say anything, Sango slapped him hard on the face.

A bright red mark was once again left on his right cheek. Clearing his throat, he spoke aloud, not to anyone in particular, but just in general, "Well, I, myself, am ready to go when the rest of you are." Miroku stood up and started to take a few steps away from Sango.

"About time," sneered InuYasha, as he, too, stood up and walked back to the path. "I can't believe you needed to rest for this long!" And once again, he was ranting while no one really seemed to be listening to him.

So, they started on their walk again, when Kagome sensed a jewel shard; she stopped dead in her tracks. "Guys…." she paused, making sure there was a jewel shard and not just her imagination, "I think I sense a jewel shard, and it's not too far away!"

InuYasha's eyes widened as he heard Kagome and stopped; he started sniffing the air. The others watched him, and everything was completely silent. After what seemed like forever, InuYasha growled in a low tone, "…A demon…." And sure enough, a loud roar was heard coming from up ahead. Then, there were loud thumping noises against the ground. Louder and louder they grew, until the beast came into view.

A giant creature it was, standing at least 50 feet high. It stood on four legs, long claws sticking out from each of its paws; the paws being the size of a person themselves. The beast growled ferociously, frightening Shippo and Kagome, and making Kilala's fur stand on end. Kagome, in a flash, hid behind InuYasha, and stared at the demon, petrified.

"Alright, we can take him!" shouted Sango as she reached for her boomerang. She pulled it out from behind her and was about to charge when InuYasha interrupted and stopped her.

"No, Sango! I can handle him on my own!" barked InuYasha, pushing Sango aside. She fell back onto Miroku, who caught her. InuYasha leapt up and whipped out his sword. "Windscar!" he shouted as he swung at the demon, leaving only little injuries. "Damn!" he swore. "This thing's tougher than I thought!" Just as he was about to jump up again and attack, a paw struck him and knocked him back about ten feet.

"InuYasha!" Kagome cried out as she turned around and started to run toward InuYasha to check on him; tears started to form and trickle down her pale face. "InuYasha, are you - ?" Before she could finish asking if he was alright, InuYasha got back up and started running back to the demon.

"Stay back, Kagome!" InuYasha shouted as he sped past her. Once again, he leapt up and swung his sword at the demon. And once again, hardly any damage was given to it. In fact, the strike on the demon made an impact on InuYasha himself; he was blown back for the second time.

Sango didn't like just watching, so she attacked the monster with her weapon. It sliced against the beast's back, making blood ooze out and drip down the demon. The demon turned from InuYasha to Sango, staring at her with an angry look on its icy cold eyes. Without warning, its long tail whipped around from behind and smashed into Sango and knocked her off her feet. Immense pain went throughout her body. She lied on the ground, having trouble breathing. The demon took advantage of her position and came stomping toward her.

Just before the demon reached her, with everyone shouting to wake her up, and Miroku running toward her, a beam of light had shown. It sped quickly in the air, and it struck the beast in its chest, right below its neck. It was then when they found out that it was an arrow from Kagome! She had shot one of her arrows with her bow. The demon was stunned by the arrow and became immobilized for the moment.

So InuYasha tried one last time with his windscar, and this time it worked! The demon exploded into little bits, with the pieces of it flying everywhere. A small object was shining in the air. Kagome saw it and jumped into the air, reaching her arm out for it. She grasped the item in her hand, and looked at it as she landed back on the ground. "A jewel shard!"

"What!?" exclaimed InuYasha as he came over. "It is! Great! Another down! Well, now that we've got it, let's get going!"

"Already!? InuYasha! Sango's hurt! We can't go now!" Kagome cried back. And with that said, she dashed over to the hurt Sango. She looked at her wounds to see if she could help, and she did the best she could to tend to her wounds.


	2. Chapter 2

**InuYasha: Kagome's Choice**

**Author's Note: **Wow, so, it's like, three years later. Back when I started this, the months just flew by, and by the time I had come back to this story, I had forgotten my plot. But having a review from someone not too long ago, I realized that I had other ones, too, so, I figured I might as well try and continue this, after a few years' hiatus, lol. Well, at any rate, here's the next chapter!

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**Chapter Two: A Melancholy Surprise**

After tending to Sango's wounds, the gang once again made its way along the path. "Are you sure you're feeling alright to walk already, Sango?" asked Kagome worriedly, putting her hand gently on Sango's arm. They were nearing the small village ahead, where they could restock on medicines and food, so they were relieved to be so close.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you, Kagome," answered Sango with a small smile on her face, trying to assure Kagome she was alright.

"Pfft, yeah, don't ask if I'm okay," grumbled InuYasha to the side.

"Oh, InuYasha, if something was wrong with you, you wouldn't hesitate to let us all know!" Kagome shouted at him. If he was going to continue to act so immature, Kagome's anger was going to continue to grow.

"Oh, yeah!? You really think so!?" InuYasha's voice started rising along with Kagome's.

"Yeah!"

"Fine, then! If you think I complain so much, I just won't talk now!"

"Grrr," growled Kagome, "fine, be a baby, InuYasha!"

"At least we'll get some peace and quiet for a while," chuckled Miroku, making Sango and Shippo snicker in the background.

"Oh, shut up, Miroku!" InuYasha sneered and glared at Miroku, refraining from jumping at him, having lost his temper already.

Eyes closed and annoyed, Kagome retorted, "I thought you weren't going to talk anymore." She laughed haughtily and continued, "I knew it wouldn't last long. How long was that this time, five seconds?" She felt like she had won the battle when InuYasha made no reply. But when she opened her eyes and faced him, she realized he had stopped walking, and just stood there, glaring ahead. "Inu….Yasha?" Turning her head slowly from him to the area where he was staring.

They were atop a hill, looking down into a valley, where a village had once lay. Silence fell upon them as they stared down to the once prosperous village, now burned down and covered in ash. "Wh – what happened!?" cried Shippo in horror.

"The village….. – Uh, what about the people!" Kagome rushed toward the burned down buildings to see if there were any survivors.

As the others followed behind, Kagome was calling out for any sign of life in the rubble. "Kagome…." InuYasha said softly, walking to her from behind. She had stopped up ahead, standing in a demolished building.

Seeing many of the dead bodies, burned or killed by some other means, was a disgusting feeling, and Kagome felt like she was about to cry. But no tears came. All that came out in a soft whisper was, "Who could have done this?" She then saw a small, cloth doll down in the rubble, of which most was black from burns, and as Kagome bent down and picked it up, it started fall apart in her hands. She held it close to her; although she knew no one there, she couldn't help but have sympathy for them. Suddenly she found herself turned around and into InuYasha's arms, who tried to comfort her.

"It was probably the Myagonku gang. I've heard they were in this general area lately," piped up Miroku.

"The Myagonku gang?" questioned Shippo, clearly ignorant of the name.

"Yes, they're a nomad group, and they travel around. They seem to just get their kicks by pillaging and destroying towns and villages."

"That's disgusting! Who in their right mind would do such a thing!" Sango exclaimed, distraught by the entire idea at all.

After Kagome had calmed down a bit, she realized something she had not earlier. Taking a step back from InuYasha, she closed her eyes. "Wait a second, guys, I think….I think there was a jewel shard here."

"Jewel shard? Where? Is it still here?" InuYasha had become anxious, and quickly started looking around.

"No, it's not here anymore, InuYasha. I think….it went that way." Kagome pointed off into the distance, to the West, where the sun was started to set, its golden glow emitting to the rest of the sky and the few clouds, making a beautiful sunset indeed.

"Well, then what are we standing around for! There's no use just hanging around here! The Mya – whatever, must have taken it! Let's go!"

"InuYasha!" Kagome hollered threateningly. "Have you no heart at all!" She briskly stomped off toward the West, with the others following behind.

"What? What did I say?" inquired the clueless InuYasha.

"Never mind! It's not worth telling you! You wouldn't understand anyways!" And that remark had brought their anger at each other back. InuYasha had strayed to the side, murmuring about how ridiculous Kagome was being. Kagome just side glanced him, glaring.

After a while, Sango decided to break the awkward silence, "What I don't get is, why would the Myagonku want the jewel shard? Of what use would it be to them?"

Considering both InuYasha and Kagome were too flustered to answer, Miroku was the one to respond, "That's a good question. I don't know why."

"Maybe they accidentally took it, or maybe they thought it would be valuable," interjected a thoughtful Shippo.

"Yes, that could be the case, unless of course…."

"Unless what, Miroku?" entered Kagome into the conversation, now interested.

"Unless, they're now working for Naraku."

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**Author's Note: **Whew! Okay, glad I'm done with that chapter. I apologize that it's short, but I prefer shorter ones as opposed to long ones because I lose interest, like when I'm reading a story, so the same applies to when I'm writing, lol. But since I'm just getting back into the story, I thought this would be a slow chapter, but I'll try to up it up with the next ones. That is, if people would like me to continue! ^_^

P.S. In case you were confused with the Myagonku gang, that's just something I made up, lol.


	3. Chapter 3

**InuYasha: Kagome's Choice**

**Author's Note: **Okay, so…it's been another two years, haha. ^_^u Honestly, I had given up on this story, because I lost interest in watching the anime (since it wasn't really on TV anymore). And when I thought about coming back and continuing the story, I couldn't really remember the characters much, or my story plot at all.

But recently, I started watching it again, finally watching it from the beginning, and I feel like I know them better now than I did way back when. I don't think it's going to lead where I initially planned, since I can't remember, but we'll see how it goes, haha.

Surprisingly, I found that I had already written the first half of this chapter soon after the second, lol.

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**Chapter Three: An Unexpected Encounter**

"Why would they work for him?" Sango queried, eyes wide with shock.

"I'm not sure, but they'd work for anyone if they were paid enough, I suppose," suggested Miroku.

"Well, come on, guys, we're getting closer to the jewel shard!" exclaimed an anxious Kagome, who had gained a little more speed. The sun had set, and with its departure came a fog, starting out light but then grew into a thick, white cloud of cold. And the farther they traveled along, the thicker the fog grew.

"Well, the fog's getting too thick to see right in front of you. I think we should call it quits for tonight," Miroku proposed, having tripped over a large stone in the pathway, unable to see it in his way.

"But we're getting closer!" InuYasha protested; another jewel shard down meant one step closer to becoming a full demon for InuYasha, and one step closer to defeating Naraku.

"Yes, but there's no point if we can't see them," insisted Miroku from behind.

"He's right, InuYasha. Besides, I can barely sense it now. It must be getting further away," voiced a disappointed Kagome.

"Fine," sighed InuYasha, for once realizing he was beat. "Let's head to the town nearby for the night. But first thing in the morning we're heading back out! And we're going to find that jewel shard!" InuYasha seemed to be speaking to Kagome more than the others, for she had the ability to sense the shards. And Kagome appeared to notice, as she had pursed her lips at InuYasha and turned away.

"Right, then, shall we go? It's this way, I believe," pointed Miroku, and he took the lead.

"Boy, it's about time, I'm getting tired, anyways!" Shippo said, relieved that they were finally taking a break.

They made it to the town within minutes and eventually found and tavern and inn to stay the night, as InuYasha was grumbling the entire time, who, in turn, was told to sit by Kagome and shut up.

The next morning seemed to be better, and a good night's sleep allowed InuYasha to calm down and clear his head. They were refreshed and ready to attack the day and find that rogue jewel shard. However, something was wrong; someone was missing. As everyone came out of the rooms and into the tavern area of the inn, they had noticed.

"Huh? Where's Kagome?" asked InuYasha, looking around Sango, assuming she would have been with her.

"I don't know, I thought she had awoken before I had and gone down," replied Sango, looking just as confused.

*

In reality, Kagome had gotten up during the night to search for the jewel shard. It had gotten closer, and was even in the village. And it was just too strong to resist looking for it, but an inner yearning of Kagome had escaped her. Instead of telling the others, this time, just maybe, she could get a jewel shard on her own. Without the help of the others, to show them that she could do something on her own. With a couple hours left before sunrise, Kagome headed out by herself.

She had taken her bow and quiver, newly restocked with fresh, sharp arrows. "I think it's this way," she whispered aloud to herself. '_Yeah, I can feel it nearby now!' _She sprung into a sprint, adrenaline flowing through her body. It was just one jewel shard. Surely she could handle it on her own, and she would be able to add it to the two she currently held in her possession. She had been practicing her Sacred Arrow when she had the chance. Always standing by, always cheering the others on, _always getting in the way._ Only once in a while was she lucky enough to actually be useful to the team with her arrow. Defeating that demon the other day had given her some new hope in her own abilities.

Kagome had realized that the jewel shard was moving, heading away from the town. She knew if she didn't hurry faster, her opening at getting the jewel shard would close. "Faster!" she yelled at herself, and she pushed herself as fast as she could until she was on the outskirts of the village. In the dim light emanating from fireplaces in the homes of the village, Kagome could barely make out a silhouette of a man briskly walking away. She heard him chuckle and speak to himself.

"Heh, heh, I think I did pretty well for myself," the man gloated. His speech was husky but slurred, he was obviously inebriated. And from the sound of clanking, he had just robbed someone, if not someones. Focusing hard, she could see a jewel shard, hidden in the pocket of the man's coat.

Almost by reflex, Kagome held up her bow, nocked her arrow, and called out to the man. "Hold it right there! Don't move!"

Unaffected by her threats, the man casually turned around to see who was addressing him. He was a short man, on the heavier man, and looked to be somewhere in his late thirties. His face was covered in stubble, and his eyes were bright from his intoxication. Delighted by the sight before him, he moved towards her, with a smirk on his face. "Now, now, who might you be? You're a beautiful, young girl. Did you come all the way here by yourself for me? Mm, I see, you wish to become my wife!"

Slightly bewildered, Kagome let her guard down for a moment. "Ew, never! I want the jewel shard you have!" But after her initial shock from the man, she realized that he was only a mere human. He was still waddling toward her, but she lowered her bow. "You're not a demon," she commented quietly. "Why do you have a Sacred Jewel shard?"

But the drunkard was not interested in answering any questions. When he was close enough to her, he grabbed her by both shoulders and started pulling her closer. "Hey, let go of me!" With all her force, Kagome pushed the man away from her, and began to draw her bow again. She really did not have any intention of shooting him, but she hoped it'd be enough to frighten him. However, his drunken state left him uninhibited by fear. He just chuckled and came toward her again.

"Stay back!" She had her arrow pointed right at him. "Tell me why you have a jewel shard!" But before he had the chance to answer, an eerie feeling spread all throughout Kagome's body. The air had grown cold, and a fog looked to be heading towards them. Kagome gasped. "Jewel shards!" They were coming closer. And it wasn't just one, or even two. There were five. Five jewel shards coming closer. "No doubt about it," Kagome said, aiming her arrow towards the fog. The air suddenly had an ominous feel to it, as the fog was nearly engulfing the two in it.

A strong, confident, icy voice came from within the fog, sending chills down Kagome's spine. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? Sacred Jewel shards, it seems."

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**Author's Note:** Wow, I'm totally surprised I actually got this chapter done, haha. Sorry it took an extremely long time to update! Hopefully I can actually keep this one up now! ^_^


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